Wednesday; January 5

I remember times, when our children were small, that Jeane and I knew they were cranky because they just needed some rest. We could see they were upset and realized that the cure to what ailed them was some sleep, but they were bound and determined they weren’t going to relax. The more they squirmed, the more they fussed and the more they fussed, the more upset they made themselves. On more than one occasion, we would tell ourselves (and them) that if they could just calm down for a few minutes, they will be asleep and all of us would be better off!
Have you ever thought about how much we emulate this challenge even as adults? We keep ourselves worked up over life – especially things we can’t control. We allow things to whip us into a frenzy that keeps us awake at night and robs us of the peaceful contentment we claim we want. Interestingly, like our children, we are our own worst enemies. Rather than allowing God to swaddle us in the warmth of His peace and protection, we fuss and fight – sometimes with others, but more often, inside ourselves.

Psalm 46:10 has become a favorite passage for many people because it challenges us to “Be still”, however, I like the way the New American Standard Bible presents it, “Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”. As I think of the imagery of “cease striving”, my mind goes back to a child being held tightly in the arms of a caring parent hoping (and sometimes praying) that the child will give into their desire to comfort them. By relaxing, both parent and child will find peace. In other words, the key to our life of anxiety is merely to “Let go and let God”.

Think About It!

Popular posts from this blog

Thursday; May 3

I have a fish tank that allows my three Bettas (Larry, Darrell and Darrell) to live in the same structure, but remain hidden from each other – well sort of.   When I go to feed the fish, I believe that one of the Darrell’s can sort of see that the other Darrell is getting fed and he will linger over on that side of the tank even after I put his food in his tank.   I have to tap on the side of the tank where his food is floating to help him refocus and eat.   I get the impression that he is so interested in what is going on in the other Darrell’s tank that he can’t enjoy his own food. I have been told that the brain of a fish is pretty small – which explains their inability to process “blessings”, but are we guilty of the same malady as Darrell?   Are we so worried (or consumed) by what happens to the people around us that we fail to realize what is going on with us?   Are we envious of the blessings that others are receiving and end up missing out on what we have been given?   Are w
Read more

Thursday; February 14

         While most of us are familiar with today being Valentine’s Day, there are some who actually refer to February 14 th as “St. Valentine’s Day”.  This title is often affixed to a criminally historic event known as “The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre” on February 14, 1929 in Chicago, but that is another story for another time.  Not knowing much about the history of “Saint Valentine” I did a little research and found out he was a Roman religious leader who was martyred in 269 AD.  According to my limited research Valentine was killed because of his encouragement of Roman men (especially soldiers) to marry which was in violation of Claudias’ edict that prohibited marriage to keep their minds singularly focused on their task of defending the Empire.  Somehow, from this beginning – and possibly embellished by Chaucer – St. Valentine became intertwined with the concept of romantic love.           I am not really sure how February 14 th became connected with love, but inspired by thi
Read more

Wednesday; December 6

What does it mean to be a leader? I subscribe to the belief that a leader is someone who seeks the best for others and works with them to achieve their potential. There are others; however, who define leadership as the ability to have a vision and the tenacity to get their own way. Leaders who are this way are often portrayed as having developed the maturity to manipulate people to do things their way. However, is the ability to drive people in our direction mature or is it childish? The Christians of the 1st Century came from a lot of different backgrounds and had to work hard to work together. As the Apostle Paul challenged Christians in the city of Ephesus he challenged them to accept individual differences, “… until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. “ (Ephesians 4:13). Bossiness was not to be viewed as a sign of maturity, a willingness to wo
Read more